Book description
Honest and insightful, this memoir is a revealing picture of our recent
past, of sport and poetry, the spirit of New Zealand's south and its
distinctive people. This is the story of a typical Dunedin childhood,
surrounded by 'nobies' - an extended family of eccentric grandparents
and uncles, cousins and neighbours - who made a huge impact on a young
mind. It's also the story of a not-so-typical family that was fanatical
about sport - cycling, hockey, cricket, golf, fishing - and went on to
produce top-ranking sportsmen. It's also the story of the growth of one
of New Zealand's most loved poets. It shows three boys who became
somebodies, but no better nor worse than the nobodies who inspired them.
This is Brain Turner's view of the world: the landscape and people he
was surrounded by; the principles he was taught; his sporting
achievements; the early development of his brothers; his time moving
between jobs as distinct as rabbiting in Central Otago and working in
Customs; and his entry into the world of books. Brian Turner is a
former Te Mata Poet Laureate and one of New Zealand's best loved poets.
An ardent and accomplished sportsman, conservationist and champion of
wild places, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the Unversity of
Otago in 2011. He is the author of numerous books and lives in the Ida
Valley.
